


What We Have Stays Behind Closed Doors

by DanPhil



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Arguing, Bottom Dan Howell, Dan is a brat, Kneeling, M/M, Office, Rich Dan Howell, Sexual Tension, Top Phil, businessman dan howell, i'll add tags as i go along as i dont want to spoil, lol what are these tags rn, not a slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-10-23 01:58:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanPhil/pseuds/DanPhil
Summary: Dan is the owner of a worldwide company 'Howell Ltd.' and looking for a new assistant. Phil is struggling to live and in desperate need of a job.





	1. A perfect fit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back with a new fic! Hope you enjoy :) got to admit I'm planning on this one being a little (a lot) less innocent than the last, whoops.

Daniel Howell sat alone in his office, a scowl firmly set on his face as he typed on his noisy keyboard. He let out a long sigh as he sent off yet another email, immediately opening up the next one he needed to reply to. Being the owner of a huge, worldwide computer company, ‘Howell Ltd.’, meant Dan couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a break, other than to sleep or eat.  

He had missed four deadlines set by his clients over the past week; all of this due to his assistant, Max, quitting the job the week before. Though he would deny it, Dan didn’t treat Max well at all. He was always yelling at him and taking his stress out on the poor man. Though this was probably due to the two of them being stuck in his office all day long, this wasn’t an excuse. After Dan threw hours of Max’s work into the paper shredder, telling him he was useless, Max had snapped and left, not even bothering to ask for a reference on his way out.

Though Dan liked to think he could manage the workload that Howell Ltd gave him without help, he couldn’t. He needed an assistant there to keep his schedule for him, organise his large but full office, and fetch him lunch and coffee. He’d be interviewing the candidates for the job later on that day.

-

A short distance away was a man was in a similar state of stress, fiddling with the handle of his briefcase as he impatiently waited for his bus to stop. He slid his fingers through his jet-black hair and checked his watch: the job interview he was heading to would start in just ten minutes. When the bus finally stopped he rushed out of the vehicle, adjusting his tie before immediately entering the grand building entrance in front of him. The spacious and bright interior halted him in his tracks for a moment, but he took a breath and sped over to the longest reception desk he’d ever seen.

Janet, the kind-looking red-haired lady sitting behind the desk, lowered her glasses to smile up at Phil as he approached. “Hello, I’m Phil Lester, I have a job interview at ten”. Janet smiled and stood up, holding her hand out to shake Phil’s, “Lovely to meet you. I’ll take you up to Mr. Howell now”. Phil nodded and followed Janet’s lead to the beautiful, wooden lift, lined with gold, stepping inside and smiling shortly at the man in a dark blue suit already standing in there.

This man stood casually, his hands resting in his pockets. “Did I hear that you have an interview with Mr. Howell?” He questioned Phil, who smiled again nervously, replying, “Yes. For being his assistant”. Phil raised his eyebrows when the man simply laughed at him, smirking, “good luck”. Though the words weren’t unkind, they sounded like something Phil should take as a warning. Phil looked at Janet questioningly, but she just shook her head, “Pay no attention to him”.

Phil had no choice but to shake it off, watching Janet reach over to the panel of buttons on the lift wall; he raised his eyebrows when he saw that the top floor is the tenth floor – he hadn’t noticed how impressively tall the building was before he had rushed inside. When the lift door finally opened, Phil was met by an empty room, lined with nothing but a single door and two houseplants.

“Let me show you in”, Janet gestures to the door in front of them and knocks, motioning for Phil to stay outside for a moment as she opened it. “This is Philip Lester for your first interview”, Janet said loudly, as if getting her boss’s attention wasn’t easily done.  

Dan looked up from his work with a scowl, annoyed that he’d been interrupted but switching his screen off with a sigh; he knew he needed this new assistant as soon as possible. “Okay, Janet, send him in and get out”, Dan said; Janet was used to Dan’s tone, but Phil certainly wasn’t.

Phil took a moment before stepping into the room, holding back a frown, still surprised to hear this man address one of his employees in such a way. He wondered if this ‘Daniel Howell’ was someone he’d even want to work for. But Phil was desperate for a job – in fact, just as desperate as Dan was for a new assistant. The huge, brightly lit room had two walls completely lined with glass windows, showing the busy London streets far down below. Phil gawped at the size of Mr. Howell’s office; he didn’t understand why one person required such a large office, or even two people.

“Hello, I’m Philip Lester, nice to meet you”. Phil held his hand out once he reached Dan’s desk, still shocked at how young Dan looked. When applying for this job, Phil was very impressed by how successful Dan has managed to become despite being so young. This was surely a good sign though; it should be easier to get on with someone of his own age.

Dan stopped slouching in his seat when he laid eyes on Phil. He reluctantly stood up, hardly focusing on the man in front of him as he shook his hand, simply grunting in reply. He was in a rush to get this interview over with so he could get back to his emails. “Sit down, I don’t have much time”, Dan began, pulling open his top drawer whilst gesturing to the seat on the other side of his desk, “Let me find your CV”. Phil nodded and took the seat gratefully, watching with interest as Dan fished through his papers – Phil could see clearly now why Dan needed an assistant. His desk was cluttered with loose papers and files, his drawer was in an awful state, and when Phil looked properly around the room, he noticed boxes full of paper were lining the wall, without a label in sight.

Phil flinched when Dan suddenly slammed his drawer shut, huffing and looking Phil in the eyes for the first time, “I can’t find it. Let me just ask you some questions”. Phil felt slightly panicked by this – would this mean he’d be at a disadvantage to the other candidates? Should he have brought his own copy? However, Phil didn’t have any time to panic when Dan immediately questioned, “So, why would you be good at this job?”

“I’m very well organised, and I have experience as an office assistant already so I’ll know most of what I’m doing”. Phil stopped talking and Dan didn’t reply, just watching him with disinterested eyes, tapping a slow rhythm on the table with his pen. Phil continued, deciding to try flattering Dan, “I’d love to get this job because it would be motivating to work for someone who’s come so far at a young age, like you”. Dan smirked at this, very visibly smug, and finally spoke again, “It would be very hard work though. And very busy. Can you handle that?” Phil opened his mouth to answer the question but Dan added in an impatient snap, “If you can’t handle this job, I can’t waste my time on you”.

Phil took a breath and tried his hardest not to frown at how very rude Mr. Howell was being to him – he really, _really_ didn’t want to work for this man, but he _needs_ a job. “I can handle it”, Phil said shortly, forcing a small smile and relaxing slightly when Dan hummed in approval, abruptly changing his tone to a less intense one, “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-eight”, Phil replied, nodding when Mr. Howell added, “That’s two years older than me then”. Phil was surprised when Dan reached for his computer screen, beginning to type and giving Phil no attention once again, “My receptionist will be in contact with you”. Phil gawped as he stood up – that job interview had lasted barely three minutes, was Dan so unimpressed with him that he didn’t want to waste more of his time asking questions?

Little did Phil know, though, Dan had already made his decision on who to give the new assistant role to.


	2. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil has his first day at work and sees Dan's foul attitude come into play.

Phil was sat alone on his sofa when the phone rang that evening, his mind still mulling over the morning’s interview that he was sure went badly. Upon seeing that Howell Ltd was calling, Phil let out a shaky sigh – why would they contact him so soon? He hasn’t had time to prepare for the surely upcoming rejection. Phil didn’t say anything when he picked up the phone, finding himself too nervous to even speak. “Hello, is this Philip Lester?” Phil recognised the voice on the other side of the phone as Janet, the receptionist who he had met earlier that day.

“Yes. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon”.

“I’m just calling you to tell you that you’ve been selected for the job you applied for, and Mr. Howell expects you to start on Monday. If that isn’t possible the job will have to go to someone else, unfortunately”. Phil was too stunned to answer for a few moments, trying hard not to leap up in excitement. He couldn’t help but notice though, how harshly Janet uttered the name ‘Mr. Howell’; she had a very clear distaste for him. And from how rudely Mr. Howell had addressed Janet earlier, this wasn’t at all surprising.

“That’s great for me”. Phil shook his head when he realised how long it had taken him to respond, adding, “Thank you, Monday will be perfect”. Just as abruptly as it had started, the call ended; Janet only added a simple “Goodbye” before hanging up. Phil let himself sink back into the cushions and relief washed over him. No more staying up past three O’clock in the morning sending job applications, no more daily microwave meals, and no more avoiding going out with friends just so he could afford a shower that night. The pay at this new job was really good, and from what Mr. Howell had said about long hours, he wouldn’t be struggling for overtime pay. The last few weeks had been nothing but stress and worrying. At long last, Phil could relax. Or so he thought.

-

The curtain fluttered gently as breeze came through the window of Daniel Howell’s bedroom, sending a shiver up the man’s spine as he slept. The room was lined with expensive décor, themed with white and gold – this was the only room in the house safe from files and folders. When Dan had first moved into his own house after saving enough money, he had been excited to own all of his expensive items – like the xBox set up on the wall opposite him alongside a giant TV screen – but he soon learnt in order to keep his business running he would have very little time for these things. Especially in the last few months; he doesn’t remember the last time he even watched a TV show. Even though Dan had every weekend off, he still spent his time at home playing catch up.

Dan groaned loudly at the sound of his alarm, reaching out and smashing down the snooze button. The bright blue LED clock read 4 AM, a sight Dan had grown used to recently. He had forgotten what a lie in felt like. He immediately forced himself out of bed, fixing himself a coffee before returning to his warm covers with his laptop on his lap. Dan answered as many emails as he could manage while he drank his coffee, before slowly and tiredly making his way into the shower.

Dan made quick work of washing and getting dressed – soon his suit was on and his hair was straightened. It was 6 AM when Dan began driving to work; he was well accustomed to this horrifically early start to a Monday morning. The sun was still not up when Dan arrived in his office, slouching tiredly in his chair even with a coffee in his system. He rested his head in his hands for a few minutes, just gathering the energy to reach down into his bag and pull his heavy laptop out so he could reply to his seemingly never-ending emails.

A few hours later, Dan found himself so engrossed in his work that he didn’t notice the door open; he jumped when a pair of legs suddenly appeared in front of his desk. His hand flew to his chest and he glanced at the time before finally looking up at the man in front of him. “Phil, hi. Right on time, grab me a coffee”.

Phil smiled at the request, relieved his first task was an easy one. “Sure. How do you like it?” Phil questioned, but Dan just sighed, irritated that he was being distracted from the email he was currently working on, “just a mocha. Ask them to add a shot of espresso”.

“Be right back”, Phil said with a nod, leaving the room rapidly and pulling up google maps on his phone so he could find the closest coffee shop. He smiled at Janet as he walked out past reception, trying hard to keep at bay his irritation at Dan’s lack of manners, instead trying to focus on doing well on his first day.

On the way back, Phil had his boss’s coffee in hand, nearly burning his skin, and he was wondering what time Dan had arrived in his office this morning. It was only 7 AM and Dan looked well settled in when had Phil arrived. Did the man ever sleep? Phil noticed the dark circles under Dan’s eyes as he placed his takeaway cup down in front of him, slipping his hands back into his pockets as he stood back and waited for instruction. He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows when Dan picked up the coffee and took a sip without even looking up at the other man – let alone saying “thank you”.

Just when Phil thought Dan had forgotten he was still in the room, his boss suddenly muttered, “so you can start by organising some boxes for me-“ He paused to stand up from his desk and lead Phil to the wall opposite his desk, pointing to the messy boxes Phil had noticed much earlier. “- they need organising by date and labeling. If you need anything like more binders or labels, Janet will be able to help you. Okay?”

“No problem”, Phil nodded confidently, turning to the boxes immediately and emptying one out onto the floor. Dan hovered for a moment, impressed that Phil understood everything he said – other assistants in the past needed much more explaining to them, but Phil was just getting on with it. At least for now.

-

The day went by quickly for both Dan and Phil, Dan had gotten nowhere near as much done as he would have liked – which was the usual – but Phil had made real headway with organising boxes. Dan widened his eyes slightly when his watch told him it was already half seven in the evening, Phil was only scheduled to work till 5. He couldn’t help but be a little impressed by how much Phil was getting done; already he was working better than any other assistant before him. Though Dan would never admit it, Dan probably couldn’t do a better job himself. “Phil, you can go home now if you like”. Phil nodded and stood up from the desk he had occupied on the opposite side of the room, neatening his piles of paper so he could return to them the next morning. “Wow, it’s late”, Phil noted when he glanced at his own watch.

Dan nodded and muttered, “you’ll be paid for any overtime”. Once again, Phil was ignored as Dan returned his focus to his computer screen. After pulling his coat on, Phil left the office and closed the door gently, not wanting to disturb Dan from his computer. Despite his lack of manners, Phil had to credit him for how hard he worked – he’d never seen anything like it. Dan hadn’t left his desk all day except for getting up once to stretch his legs and stare out of the window. He had even eaten his lunch whilst still working on emails.

-

The next morning, on his way up to the office, Phil bumped into the man he had met in the lift on the day of his interview – the one who had ‘warned’ him about Dan and his rudeness. “Phil, is it?” The man asked as he held his hand out to shake Phil’s, eyes raking over his face as if searching for something. “Yeah”, Phil replied, meeting the handshake, “sorry, I didn’t catch your name last time?”

“It’s Tim. But never mind that, how are you finding Mr. Howell?” Phil shrugged at this question, answering honestly, “he’s okay. I enjoy working for him”. Phil gets a bad feeling when Tim raises his eyebrows in surprise, laughing shortly to himself, “really?”

“Yeah”, Phil nodded, scowling slightly and pushing, “what’s so funny?”

“He’s just a rude twat”, Tim replied plain and simply, “his assistants don’t usually last more than two months, I give you two and a half, since you don’t seem to have lost your mind yet-“

“Why do they leave?”

“Because he’s a rude twat”, Tim reiterated, chuckling louder this time. Phil didn’t know how to feel about this – he didn’t want this job to turn out to be a bad one that he couldn’t handle, he really needed it. Tim left Phil standing alone in front of the elevator with a friendly pat on the back; it took Phil a good few minutes to shake himself out of his mild freak out. Phil was soon in the elevator, sighing at himself and forcing a smile as he entered Mr. Howell’s giant office, letting himself just feel lucky to have a well-paid job.

The day went almost exactly the same as the day before; Phil had simply fetched Dan coffee in between ordering the masses of files Phil thought would never end. It soon reached early hours of the evening. Throughout the day, Phil had noticed something different about his boss. He was tense. Dan had once again spent the full day replying to emails, huffing every so often when he received a rude reply or realised a spelling mistake he had made. When Dan received an email telling him an investor wished to pull an investment – a small one but still a significant one – Dan growled out loud.

Dan noticed Phil look up from his work, but he soon continued opening and closing the many folders in front of him, seemingly searching for something. Dan just grew so annoyed and overwhelmed by the noise of files constantly being moved and paper flicking about that he snapped, “Phil, can you quieten down over there?” The man on the opposite side of the room nodded respectfully and stopped moving, resting his arms on the desk for a moment. But this just irritated Dan more, “so are you just going to sit there doing nothing?”

Phil sighed, holding back from commenting, and began flicking through the files once more, purposefully making no effort to quieten his movements. He didn’t understand why his boss had to make such a rude comment. It was only now that Phil was seeing a glance of the Mr. Howell that Tim had told him about.

Later on, when Phil was just planning on asking the other if he could go home for the day, Mr. Howell stood up, face flustered and attention turned to him. “Phil, I have to go and do something in the office downstairs, come here and finish the last column of this spreadsheet. I have to send it off in an hour”. Phil just gawped as Dan raced from the room – there was no please, no thank you. And this was certainly not in his job description. With a huff, Phil walked over to his boss’s computer screen, sighing in relief when he realised he understood the spreadsheet, despite Dan’s lack of explanation.

Phil glanced at the time at the bottom of the screen – 8 PM, later than yesterday. He wondered if over time would become the norm here. Though he had no problem with working the extra hours, he just wasn’t sure if he could spend nearly thirteen hours in a room with Mr. Howell’s foul attitude for much longer. And he hadn’t even seen the worst of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoyed :)


	3. Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes and Phil finds it harder and harder to deal with Dan's awful attitude. Meanwhile Dan thinks he's developing feelings for Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while but here we go, hope you enjoy :)

Phil had been working for Howell Ltd. for two weeks now – he was finally at a point where he understood the work he was doing, hardly needing to ask his boss questions anymore. The disorganised, full boxes lining the walls of the room when Phil had first arrived had slowly disappeared, thanks to Phil. The files and papers were neatly put away in drawers or on shelves, all labelled carefully.

The pair hardly spoke to each other – other than Dan asking for coffee or for a file to be bought up. Phil was finally used to Dan’s snappy tone and general rudeness. He was used to him never saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ and he no longer let it annoy him. He just let it go over his head.

Some days Dan was more stressed than others; today was one of those days where Dan would explode at any time. He had been awful with Phil all morning, and it was getting harder and harder for the elder to hold back from arguing or even walking out. At 5 PM, Dan growled and threw his laptop closed, drawing Phil’s attention. Holding back a smirk at the other man’s child-like stroppiness, Phil questioned, “Are you alright, Mr Howell?” Dan scowled across at his assistant, glaring as he barked across the room, “There’s too much to do!”

The stress clouding Dan’s expression as well as the dark circles under his eyes almost made Phil feel sorry for him, but his glare stopped this. Phil sighed and thought to himself for a few moments. “The spreadsheet?”

Dan just grunted in response and Phil stood up from his desk, offering with a forced kind tone, “If you let me take half home tonight we can get it all done on time.” Mr Howell’s body froze at this – he was surprised by Phil’s offer, this wasn’t something an assistant had been willing to ever do before – nowhere near.

“Yeah. That would work,” Dan eventually mumbled. It was almost stubborn the way he maintained his rotten attitude.  Dan’s lips parted for a moment after that – considering adding a “Thank you,” but instead he flicked his laptop back open, “Grab me a coffee, Phil.”

With a silent sigh, Phil left the room, wondering if Dan would ever appreciate the amount of work he was doing for him. He hadn’t been late at all since he had started, and every single day he had taken overtime. He supposed though, that there was no way he worked harder than Dan worked.

-

It took another month to pass before the day Dan and Phil had a proper conversation. One that involved something other than Dan describing his coffee order. Phil was on his break and he had decided to spend his break in the office, instead of going down to the canteen like he would most days. He had been sitting in silence eating his pasta salad whilst Dan typed fast on his computer, a frown set on his face as his foot lightly tapped along to the music playing in his earphones.

When Phil listened in, however, he noticed that he recognised the beat – an artist he was familiar with, Brockhampton. “Mr Howell,” he called out, leaning forward and putting his food down on his desk. Dan rolled his eyes and tugged an earphone out, huffing, “What?”

“Is that Brockhampton?”

“Yeah”, Dan responded immediately, unable to help a smile forming on his face. “Do you listen to them too?”

Phil took a few too many seconds to respond – he was taken aback by the smile on his boss’s face; he hadn’t seen it before, and he thought it suited him, better than his usual scowl. “I love them.”

“Really?” Dan continued; he looked interested in Phil for the first time, “Have you heard all of the new album yet?”

“Not yet. But I love the few songs I’ve heard.” Dan didn’t hesitate in unplugging his earphones so Phil could hear the music too. Phil raised his eyebrows at this gesture – though it was small, it shocked him that Dan would want to do something for someone other than himself.

“I love this one,” Dan stated, pointing to his phone as the track played, “I really get the lyrics.” Phil just watched as Dan let himself grin at the music, both of them humming along quietly. They made eye contact for a few moments, just smiling at each other – but Dan was the first to chicken out. “I’m gonna go and grab a coffee,” he mumbled as he rushed out, not looking back at his assistant.

Dan didn’t like this – he wasn’t supposed to be friends with his assistant, never mind get a funny feeling in his stomach like he was right then. He hadn’t felt like this since his first and only crush in school. He shuddered and leaned against the wall outside his office, covering his face with his hands as he contemplated how this had developed over the last few weeks. Dan had been denying it until now, but he found Phil very good looking, and the man had made him smile numerous times – though he had been quick to hide it from Phil – either by asking for extra sprinkles to be added to his morning coffee, or simply when Dan caught Phil smirking at his phone during breaks with his tongue between his teeth. Additionally, of course – contrary to any previous assistants – Phil hadn’t once complained about the amount of work he was tasked with every day; Dan was perfectly aware of the extreme amount of overtime Phil did. With a shake of his head, Dan continued on his way to get his coffee, forcing his mind back onto what was really important here – his work and his company.

**-**

When Phil entered the office the next day he dropped his suitcase down with a thud, sighing as he sat down. He hadn’t managed a single hour of sleep last night, kept up by a migraine which had only finally faded an hour ago. Unbeknownst to Dan, today was definitely a day where Phil was in danger of snapping at anyone, if they were even a bit rude to him. And just that happened.

“Phil, did you get the filing done yesterday?” Mr Howell asked, not taking notice of the exhausted look on Phil’s face. Phil had to take a breath to calm himself before he answered. The only reason Phil couldn’t get his work finished was that his boss had spent the entire afternoon and evening yelling at his receptionist down the phone. Dan had been so awful to the receptionist that Phil was sure they would soon quit their job. “Not quite.”

Phil tried hard to ignore the way Dan rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, clenching his fists under the desk as Dan stated loudly, “I have so much to get done, you have to pull your weight.” Phil froze up completely at this, did Dan really just accuse him of not _pulling his own weight_? Phil had never worked so hard in his life. Luckily, the younger left it at that, turning back to his computer and glaring at his screen once more, leaving Phil to get on with his own work.

Phil remained on the end of his tether throughout the day, so when Dan had called across the office to ask Phil to do his filing quieter, his tone rude and childish, Phil finally snapped. He chucked his file down on the table, raising his eyebrows when he saw his boss flinch. But Dan collected himself, almost shouting, “What do you think you’re doing? I didn’t say stop!”

Phil wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt so furious before, the number of times he had been in this exact situation with Dan was infuriating. Before the man could stop himself, he was standing up from his desk, and speaking loudly across the room. “Mr Howell! Can you _please_ be quiet? You’re not the only one trying to work in here! You sulk at me if I don’t get all of my work done but it’s always you causing me to go slower!”

When the room fell silent Dan gawped at Phil, mouth popped open in an ‘o’ shape that would be comical in any other situation. As Phil realised what had just happened, he too gawped, inwardly yelling at himself. However, before he could formulate an apology, words he could hardly believe came from his boss’s mouth. “Make me. Fucking make me be quiet.”


	4. You want this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil can only hide how badly they want each other for so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya lads, sorry for the delay with this chapter, I have a load of essays due in and had to put them first. But they’re nearly done now, so here we go! Hope you enjoy 😊 Thank you for reading and for all the lovely comments this fic has been getting, much appreciated!

"Make me. Fucking make me be quiet."

The room was silent as Phil made his way to his boss’s desk. He let his feet hit the ground heavily, smirking when, as intended, Dan flinched at the loud sound of his controlled footsteps. Dan’s shoulders rose and fell slowly as he took a deep breath, stubbornly maintaining a glare at Phil as he stopped in front of him. In spite of the glare on his face, Dan raised his head, looking his assistant in the eyes as he waited – almost obediently – for the other to speak.

Phil hummed as he thought, attempting to work out if he was on the same wavelength as the younger. He hadn’t missed the way Dan shivered beneath him, but what if he had the wrong impression? This could get him fired. But the way Dan was acting right then – still silent and waiting – made him almost certain they wanted the same thing.

“Maybe I will.” The whisper left Phil’s lips so suddenly that Dan wasn’t sure if he’d imagined them. But he was certain he didn’t imagine Phil’s tongue slipping between his lips to swipe over the bottom one. Dan closed his eyes momentarily, trying to calm himself, and subtly moved his hands to cover his lap – though he’d never admit why.

The two stayed still, just staring at each other for a whole two further minutes. Phil could feel his trousers tightening and he had to finally look away from Dan – the site of him looking up from below with wide eyes was too much for him. Phil couldn’t let himself follow what his darkened, powerful thoughts were telling him – he could ruin everything so quickly just with a small action.

“I’ll grab you a coffee, Sir,” Phil announced, leaving his boss still frozen behind his desk when he rushed from the room. He was confused as to why his boss hadn’t told him to stop, or even said anything at all; that was the first time he’d seen Dan speechless. And Phil couldn’t deny how much he loved it. Phil glanced down the corridor to check it was empty before swiftly palming his hard crotch, groaning and leaning his head back against the wall, giving himself some relief. “Not now,” he mumbled to himself, almost pleading with his body to calm down. But Phil couldn’t stop thinking about the fact Dan must feel the same way. But this couldn’t happen. Not with his boss, surely.

Phil adjusted his quiff and huffed once more, heading down the corridor to grab the coffee he promised his boss. He had to focus on his work now – and then tonight he had plans with his friends for the first time in a while.

**-**

Phil turned up late to dinner that night; unsurprisingly Dan had needed him late at the office. The evening at the pub with Joe, Dianne and Josh had passed quickly with friendly conversation, and before Phil knew it he was on his way home in a taxi with Josh, the pair having parted from Joe and Dianne due to where they all lived. Phil hadn’t had anything to drink for a long while, so he could feel the alcohol affecting him, smirking stupidly at Josh as he showed him some funny cat videos on his phone. “So how is your job going?” Josh asked suddenly, putting his phone aside and looking to Phil.

Phil sighed and shook his head, answering honestly, “It’s killing me. But I can’t complain, I’ve needed a job for so long.” Phil ran his hand through his hair as Josh went on to question with interest, “What’s Dan Howell like? You work directly for him, right?” Phil visibly stiffened, unprepared to hear his boss’s name. “He’s a twat, really. Awful to everyone. He strops all day, every day.” Phil groaned, not noticing Josh’s raised eyebrows as he rambled on, unable to stop himself now he’d started, “I can’t tell you how much I want bend him over that desk of his and-” This time, Phil did notice Josh’s amused and surprised expression, cutting himself off and chuckling, “Shit, sorry.” When Josh just watching him, still laughing, Phil mumbled, rubbing at his face, “crap, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, no!” Josh said with amusement, “Don’t let _me_ stop you.” When silence followed, Josh asked yet another question, “So you two are _that_ close?”

“No!” Phil sighed, rolling his eyes, “Not close at all, actually. As I said, he’s a twat.”

“So, do you think you’ll start looking for a new job then, since your boss is so horrible?” Phil widened his eyes at this, frowning, “What? No way!” Josh held his hands up and giggled at Phil’s reaction, “Alright, alright. I get it.”

-

A week later in Dan Howell’s office, the tense situation that had occurred between he and his assistant seemed forgotten, or at least pushed out of both of their minds. The pair had spent the past month struggling to complete the masses of work they had to complete, and today was the first time they were actually caught up with everything. This meant Dan was in a particularly good mood, humming to himself behind his desk and even smiling at Phil when he entered the room. He was still rude to Phil, of course, but not as much as usual.

“Brockhampton are releasing a new song tomorrow,” Dan announced as he bit into his sandwich, locking eyes with Phil when he looked up from his own lunch. Phil raised his eyebrows in surprise, unused to Dan actually speaking to him like a normal person would. “Yeah. I know.” Dan sighed at the other’s lack of response, but continued, “I’d love to go see them on tour one day. Apparently, they’re really good. But I can’t.”

“Why on earth not? You have the money for that,” Phil stated matter-of-factly, confused.

“I don’t have the time,” Dan replied with a shrug, assuming it was obvious. Phil shook his head and spoke with frustration, “I’ve never known anyone to work as hard as you do. You need a break.” Dan tensed at Phil’s tone, fiddling with his fingers under his desk, unable to hold back a small smile in response. When his assistant just stared at his face, Dan frowned slightly, snapping, “What?”

The elder shrugged and answered honestly, “You have a lovely smile.” Dan was shocked by what his assistant had just said, but Phil didn’t flinch, instead just chuckling gently at Dan’s widened eyes and picking his sandwich back up. Dan took a deep breath and stood up, excusing himself, “I have to go to my meeting.” Both of them knew, all too well, that Dan’s meeting didn’t start for another hour, but Phil allowed him to lie, just smirking to himself smugly at the effect he was able to have on his boss – and he wasn’t even trying.

Phil was feeling brave today, and he wasn’t sure why particularly. He just felt like pushing the limits with his boss. And that would certainly happen that day, though Phil didn’t know it yet.

When Dan returned from his meeting his good mood was long gone; Phil watched as he threw his briefcase onto his desk, knocking papers on the floor that he would surely ask Phil to clear up later. “I _hate_ those men! They’re all useless!” Dan was shouting louder than Phil had heard him shout before, so he tentatively stood up from his desk, raising his own voice, “Calm d-”. When Dan interrupted him with even more yelling, which Phil wasn’t even paying attention to anymore, he said quietly, “Dan. Calm down.”

The younger fell silent momentarily at the sound of his first name being used – as opposed to the usual ‘Mr Howell’ – but this didn’t stop him for long. “Calm down? What do you mean? The people who work for me can _never_ do the things I want them to do. Never!” With the last word, Dan thudded his fist down onto his desk behind him, growling to himself as he leaned back against it.

“Why don’t you go home and relax? It’s late now. I can finish up if you w-” Again, Phil was interrupted, and Dan rushed over to stand in front of Phil’s desk, “No! Are you stupid? I’m going to get behind again!”

Slowly, Phil crossed his arms over his chest, giving Dan a stern look which silenced him. He stepped around the desk to stand right in front of Dan. It felt to him as if his boss was riling him up on purpose. Searching for a reaction from him. And maybe he was. The distance between the two was so small that Phil could feel Dan’s laboured breath brush his skin. “I’m not stupid, Dan.” Phil’s voice was stable, the complete opposite to Dan’s shaking body. Phil wasn’t thinking now at all – all consequences of his actions were no longer being considered – and he continued. “So don’t give me cheek like that”. Phil chuckled as he watched his boss attempt to respond, “I- Phil- I-”

Phil shocked both of them when his hand flew up to grab Dan’s chin, holding his face still. A sharp breath was drawn in through Dan’s lips as Phil spoke, “Now. I said you should go home and relax, but you want to stay here with me instead, hmm?” Dan’s legs were almost giving in beneath him, and he was trying his hardest to stay stable as Phil’s finger suddenly began tracing across his bottom lip. “Answer me,” Phil pushed.

“Y-yes,” Dan finally whispered, gulping loudly. Phil’s thumb then moved to Dan’s top lip, tickling him and making him flinch. “Yes? You want this?”

Though what ‘this’ was, was unclear to both of the men, it didn’t take Dan more than a second to nod. Phil smiled at the response, chuckling shortly before taking a small step back. “I seem to remember the other day you asked me to make you be quiet.” The younger didn’t even have a chance to respond before Phil’s hand was grabbing onto his hair, tugging lightly. “You better get down on your knees for me so I can do what you asked for.”


End file.
